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Mayon Turbo Stove

2010

In The GambiaMargaret Graves, Intern 2010

Background Bio:

Having grown up in the small city of Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, I was lucky that my love of horses steered me towards an interest in agriculture. I have always been very aware of environmental issues, but my time at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College caused me to become particularly invested in farming and sustainability. As I wrapped up my M.Sc. in pasture systems, I found myself wanting to understand another aspect of agriculture: poverty and food security. I felt that I could not grasp the whole picture of food production until I had spent time with farmers all over the world, so I looked for opportunities involving agriculture and development. Immediately prior to starting with REAP-Canada, I volunteered on farms in the UK and the US, and worked in the reforestation industry, which allowed me to speak with similarly-minded people and prepared me for the challenge of making a difference in the Gambia or Senegal.

Education:

M.Sc. (Agriculture) Plant & Animal Science, Dalhousie University
B.Sc. (Agriculture) Animal Science, Nova Scotia Agricultural College

Host Country:

The Gambia

Internship Experience:

My REAP-Canada internship in the Gambia was an enlightening experience. I count myself lucky to have been one of the first two interns during the course of the current West African project, Gaining Ground in the Gambia and Senegal (GGIGS). Previous to myself and Leanne, GGIGS had not hosted interns, and the experience was less structured, and grittier, than it will be for those who follow us. I worked hard to facilitate communication between all parties of GGIGS including REAP, and the three overseas organizations. One of the best things about the internship was learning to speak Wolof and communicating in a variety of situations.

The NGOs working in the Gambia and Senegal are inspiring. I was based in the village of Njawara, at the Njawara Agricultural Training Center (NATC), in the North Bank Region of The Gambia. They are highly respected in the country and have really improved life for the people of Njawara. It is one of the few small villages in the Gambia where people can stay, earn a living, and build a life, while elsewhere the workforce increasingly migrates to the city. NATC is intimately connected with the villages in the district and has a base of knowledgeable farmers which it has trained and worked with for years. AVISU (Agency for Village Support), in the town of Kaur, in the Central River Region of the Gambia, specializes in literacy training and community-building programs, and has an amazing, tight-knit group of dedicated staff that travel every day to the surrounding villages. In Senegal, REAP’s partner is APROFES (Association pour la promotion de la femme Sénégalaise). This incredibly hard-working group improves the lives of Senegalese women and girls by improving their standing in the Kaolack region’s communities and by offered legal aid to women in trouble.
My internship involved traveling between, and learning from, these three organizations. Their different strengths taught me a lot about development and how locals are dedicated to improving the standard of living. I also traveled regularly to the ten villages that GGIGS works in. There, I worked with the community organizers to gather information from farmers. I became really interested in the livestock program, traveling with our livestock officer to vaccinate and clean animals, and even started carrying a hoof trimmer with me at all times, teaching people to trim sheep’s hooves. I also worked on developing a grass hay system, working with grass that, otherwise, is burned to avoid bush fires later in the dry season. Working with farmers on these initiatives was really amazing, and taught me that farmers, in the West or in Africa, have their similarities. It also allowed me to understand more about the nature of “development” in Senegal and Gambia, and how hand-outs have shaped peoples’ attitudes.

One moment that stood out was being accepted by my namesake as part of her family, as well as my realization that having a namesake, and a West African name, was an honour, a welcome, and a community. Helping to harvest groundnuts (peanuts) in the impoverished village of Gunkuru Tukalor, always under the strict command of the village’s most outgoing woman, dancing with the women in Njawara, and seeing a woman leap forward in a group discussion, grab some rice seedlings, and demonstrate planting them, will also remain in my heart. Although women are marginalized, they certainly find a way to make their mark! As for the men, they taught me patience and good-heartedness, the way only 5+ marriage proposals a day can. Teaching computer lessons to the staff of NATC was probably the most lasting contribution we made, and the most rewarding.

What sticks with me most, a few weeks back into my Canadian life, is that Gambians and Senegalese are the warmest, most giving, most colourful people I have ever met. At our post-internship debrief, CIDA interns who had traveled to other parts of Africa spoke of experiencing violence and disregard for human life. My West African experience was exactly the opposite: I felt an underlying commitment to hospitality and care for others; unlike anything I’ve encountered in people before.

 

In The GambiaLeanne Robinson, Intern 2010

Background Bio:

My grandmother was the one who instilled in me my love of maps. It was important for her to put a ‘face’ to the evening news and always had an atlas close at hand. She encouraged us to bring as many different experiences as possible into our learning pot so we could form our own views of the world. My international life experiences to date (isn’t it exciting that the one thing that never stops, is the gaining of life experiences?) have ranged from designing and building an adobe composting toilet in Nicaragua, to designing surgical devices in Switzerland, to a solo bike tour through South-Eastern Asia, and hiking in Pakistan. We can learn so much from each other, if only we are open enough to receive this knowledge.

My formal education seems so secondary to these experiences but I have tried to fit my education with my life goals. After 5 years of working in the medical design field, I become somehow unconvinced that the designing of surgical instruments and prosthetics for the Western people was actually helping those who needed it the most. I returned to school and completed a master’s in building engineering with a focus on solar energy and the design of low-energy buildings. I have recently been working conducting research on affordable, sustainable housing in the Canadian North (Nunavut, Northwest Territories and Yukon).

I am extremely excited to be heading to West Africa to work on new cooking technologies. While in Nicaragua I witnessed the implications of cooking with wood in very small spaces and the negative effects it has on people’s health, especially women, as well as the devastating effects it has on the land. I believe in simple technologies and their ability to make a huge impact on people’s lives.


Education:

M.A.Sc. Building Engineering, Solar Energy, Concordia University
B.A.Sc. Mechanical Engineering, Bio-medical, Queen’s University

Host Country:

The Gambia

Intership Experience

With Ebou Njie, my namesake’s husband, on Tobaski- an important religious holiday in the Gambia (the feast of sacrifice)
Testing a clay stove with Mama Manneh, our project manager, and Catherine, the renewable energy intern based in Senegal
A Mayon stove demonstration with the stove coordinator, Hady Fal Nying (my namesake) and a community organiser, Mariama Ceesay
Rastas don’t work as well on toubab (European descent) hair!

I was sent to the Gambia as a ‘renewable energy intern’ in order to help in the production, promotion and evolution of improved cook stoves which used agricultural waste products as fuel. How straight forward that sounds while sitting in an office in Canada! I don’t think anything could have prepared me for the experience that I was to have living 10km off the main highway in the rural community of Njawara. The relationships that I built and the memories I have will truly stay with me a lifetime.
A typical day in Njawara included coffee and toast cooked on our own Mayon Turbo Stove as well as the observation of our own ‘mother’ cooking our dinner on the traditional smoky 3-stone wood fire. The experimental breakfast process was an excellent way to understand the benefits and challenges of cooking with an improved stove technology. We experienced first hand the obstacles of using the stove including our own lack of preparation for the rainy season and thus having a fuel availability problem, as well as understanding the importance of a tight manufacturing process and the effects it can have on the ease of use of the technology. We also saw the potential in a stove that lit and boiled water for our coffee and toasted our toast in only a few minutes, without cutting down a single tree.

The most memorable moments of working with the team at the Njawara Agricultural Training Center (NATC) and in the participating villages were- the pottery picnic where the women of Gunjur showed me their potential for building clay stoves, the enthusiasm of the NATC staff in learning computer skills during our weekly computer classes (often without power or computers), the demonstration of onion planting in Suwareh Kunda, being knee deep in water planting rice with the women of Gunjur and Njawara, and the farm classroom sessions with the Canadian farmers from Organic Meadows co-op.

In just a few short months we were introduced to international development – the good, and the not-as-good- on a level that could never be learned from a text book. I was fortunate to have the chance of getting a peak into the world of international development through the eyes of many of the parties concerned - through the eyes of a donor who visited the communities, through the eyes of other Canadian farmers who came to share experiences with the local Gambian farmers, through the eyes of a director in community organising and project meetings, through the eyes of other NGOs in the Gambia, and through the eyes of the community members being affected by an international project. I never imagined that I could learn so much about the world, about our country and about myself in such a short period of time.











 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eileen Jones, Intern 2010 - 2011

Background Bio:

I was fortunate to grow up in a family where summers were spent exploring the nooks, crannies, and varied landscapes of my home province, British Columbia. Backyard biology lessons were the norm, as were family fieldtrips to local forests, pastures, and wetlands. Combined, these experiences instilled in me a deep curiosity about the natural world and a grand sense of adventure.

As an adult, I pursued a first degree in Ecology and a second in Biogeography and Forest Ecology. Never satisfied to be just a scientist, I sought courses and community organizations that allowed me to apply my knowledge of the natural world to improve the lives of other people and other species.

My Masters research focused on wildlife habitat and montane forest ecology, and I worked closely with other research groups, industrial partners, and government organizations. While my formal graduate school education took me to old-growth Albertan forests, my informal education was centered around volunteer work at the University of British Columbia Farm. There, I worked with an intergenerational education program and fell in love with agricultural landscapes, organic farming, and all things food related. I now see agroecology as a way to merge many of my interests and have a tangible and direct impact on the communities I work in.

I am humbled and honoured to have the opportunity to work with farmers in The Gambia and am so very, very excited. In light of global concerns about climate change, biodiversity loss, food security, and environmental degradation, I am eager to challenge my own ideas of that it means to live “sustainably” by learning from other cultures.

Education:

M.Sc. Forest Ecology and Biogeography, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia
B.Sc. Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University

Host Country:

Sénégal

Internship Experience:

I consider myself very lucky to be one of the first four IYIP interns that REAP has sent to West Africa since 2008. Moreover, Catherine and I were fortunate to be the first-ever REAP interns to go to Sénégal to work with l’Association de la femme Sénégalaise (APROFES). This meant that our experiences were more raw and unstructured than will be the experiences of the future interns. We were, among other things, there to pave the way for continuing partnerships, and that meant building relationships.

International Development, as I learned, is first and foremost about building relationships: partnerships between NGOs and other agencies; cross-cultural, cross-continent, and cross-country alliances; relationships between Canadian and local project staff and between the staff and the beneficiary villages; developing personal relationships with the communities I worked in; making friends outside of work, and befriending other local development actors to build informal networks; and developing friendships with farmers, local characters, my host families, and my toma (namesake).

Since relationships were such an important part of my experience, naturally, the two weeks of cultural immersion and home stays were a highlight. I spent time living with families in each of the two Sénégalese project villages and these experiences were a springboard to understanding the people and rhythm of life, and to being accepted into the communities. It wasn’t always easy to communicate, thanks to my newly-developed Wolof skills, but the village stays afforded the time to really appreciate the ndanka, ndanka (slow, slow) pace of life and forced me to discover how powerful non-verbal communication can be. Using gestures and broken Wolof, I “discussed” adulthood with my teenage sisters in El Hadji Mabeye and they told me of the merits of going to school before getting married. And using sand as a chalkboard and peanuts as counters, I “tutored” my younger sister in Tchisse Masse and worked on her math skills.

My work at APROFES introduced me to a group of hard-working, inspiring, committed women. APROFES contributes to the socioeconomic and cultural life of women and tries to facilitate the emergence of female leadership. Their work takes many forms, and is focused on education, literacy, rural development, microfinance, gender equality and countering violence against women. The ladies of APROFES are equally committed to their roles as women and mothers as they are to their work: the office closes for a two-and-a-half hour lunch break each day, to enable the women to go home and cook for their families!

My work was varied, and ranged from helping with housekeeping at the NATC in Gambia to being a cheerleader for the GGIGS project in Sénégal. I focused on supporting the partners and project staff, and that meant sitting in meetings to plan and revise the project, mobilizing and supporting farmer trainings, laying the groundwork for an advanced training module on integrated pest management, generating ideas with research partners, supporting both APROFES and NATC on other programming, and contributing to the overall management and structure of GGIGS.

One of the most disheartening parts of my experience was to see the effects of long histories of colonialism and “bad development.” I felt lucky to be part of a project that takes a participatory approach to helping people, and is focused on skills, learning, sharing, and capacity-building, rather than on hand-outs and Western expertise. Reversing a deep-seated mentality that knowledge must come from foreign experts is no easy task, but I hope that the GGIGS project, and the vibrancy and energy of our project partners and other progressive development programs can help change this reality.

Now back in Canada, I miss my West African life: greeting everyone everywhere, jovial relationships, the sense of solidarity and togetherness, the enthusiasm of farmers, twilight bucket showers, the glow of the late afternoon light, and the constant spontaneous song and dance. I am struck by how quiet it is here, in absence of broadcasted calls to prayer, the incessant chatter of tropical birds, the steady beat of pounding millet, the lure of distant drums, the chanting of Islamic ring tones, the melody of lengthy greetings, and the constant exclamations of joy.

I am so humbled, honoured, and fortunate to have been to Sénégal and Gambia, to have made friends, built relationships, and been welcomed into many homes and families; to have been in an place where relationships drive transactions, interactions, and movements through the world; and to have developed bonds so strong that I got to be part of the systems of loyalty, mutual care, and reciprocity. Jërëjëf (thank you).

 

Catherine Bourgault, Intern 2010 - 2011

Contexte Bio:

Grandement conscientisée aux problématiques environnementales contemporaines, je considère prioritaire les actions visant à réduire les impacts négatifs pouvant en découler. Ma mobilisation à agir dans le domaine environnemental provient également de l’injustice dont fait face les populations des pays en voie de développement, lesquelles ne sont pas responsables de la détérioration de l’environnement, mais souffrent grandement des répercussions qui en résultent (i.e. inondation, sécheresses,…). Ainsi, travailler comme stagiaire en énergie renouvelable au sein de l’organisation R.E.A.P.-Canada et en coopération avec l’Association pour la promotion de la femme sénégalaise (APROFES) représente pour moi une situation idéale. Voilà enfin une expérience qui permettra d’intégrer ma formation universitaire de premier cycle en génie agroalimentaire, ma formation universitaire de deuxième cycle en génie environnemental, ainsi que mes expériences et mes intérêts personnels et professionnels.

De plus, ayant eu l’occasion de côtoyer plusieurs cultures et sociétés étrangères lors de mes différents voyages (Sénégal, Europe de l’Ouest, du nord au sud, certains pays d’Europe de l’Est, Égypte, Australie, Mexique,…) et séjours à l’étranger (Angleterre et France), je connais bien les avantages découlant des échanges interculturelles. Pour moi, apprendre sur une autre culture permet non seulement d’ouvrir notre esprit, mais aussi d’en apprendre sur nous même. Et se connaître soi même est pour moi l’apprentissage le plus important.

J’entrevois donc mon séjour au Sénégal comme étant une expérience personnelle et professionnelle énergisante, me permettant d’effectuer un travail qui me passionne, au sein d’une culture pour laquelle j’ai un immense respect.

«  Connais-toi toi-même » Socrate

Education:

Baccalauréat Génie agroalimentaire, Université Laval, Québec
Maîtrise en Génie Civil – environnement, Université Laval, Québec

Pays organisateur:

Sénégal

Expérience de Stage:

Je suis partie au Sénégal ayant comme mission d’organiser la fabrication de fourneaux améliorés utilisant des résidus agricoles comme carburant. Le but derrière l’implantation de tels fourneaux étant de limiter la déforestation et de diminuer le travail des femmes en leurs évitant les corvées de bois qui peuvent être parfois longues et périlleuses.
Mais encore ! Partir pour le Sénégal représentait aussi pour moi la possibilité d’exécuter un travail qui me passionne dans un contexte culturel aux richesses intarissables. Beau projet !

En travaillant en collaboration avec une ONG sénégalaise nommé L’APROFES, (L’Association pour la promotion de la femme Sénégalaise), j’ai pu expérimenter le quotidien de sénégalais œuvrant dans le domaine du développement communautaire. Bien que concrètement mes responsabilités étaient principalement centrées sur la gestion de la production de fourneaux améliorés, j’ai été amené à participer à une foule d’autres activités. L’organisation de formations en agriculture écologique et l’implantation d’un système goute à goute en sont quelques exemples. En bref, mon stage m’aura permis de me familiariser avec les implications du travail de coopération toute en me permettant d’acquérir un savoir-faire varié.

Maintenant de retour au Québec, il ne fait aucun doute que mon expérience au Sénégal constituera un souvenir mémorable. Il n’arrive pas tout les jours d’être placé dans un contexte culturel aussi différent. C’est une situation ou nous avons à tout réapprendre (langues, coutumes, alimentation…). C’est comme si ont-vous « déprogrammais  » ! Dans un tel contexte, nous sommes obligés de mettre nos actions en perspectives et cela contribue à avoir une opinion plus souple et plus ouverte sur plusieurs points de vue. C’est un acquis qui contribuera sans doute à l’exercice de mon futur travail qui sera dans le domaine de la coopération international. Et oui, je pars pour l’inde dans quelque semaine…

 

 

 

 

Erik Delaquis, Ecological Agriculture Development Intern 2010 - 2011

Background Bio:

Growing up in Summerland, British Columbia in the heart of wine and fruit country, I gained an early appreciation for agriculture. Working on orchards and farms steadily since my early teens instilled in me a keen interest in agriculture. Being an avid camper and hiker, I followed my love of nature into a biology degree at the University of Victoria, where I developed an interest in international development that also led me to a minor in applied ethics.

Throughout my degree I continued my education by working each summer for Agriculture Canada at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre, where I assisted in research investigating many issues pertaining to water and soil conservation, crop drought tolerance, organic farming methods, pesticide and herbicide use and management, and much more. This also gave me the chance to get hands-on experience planting and growing dozens of varieties of fruits and vegetables. During my University years I also worked for the University of Victoria’s Center for Forest Biology on an antifreeze protein project, an enriching academic experience.

Time spent backpacking through Central America clearly illustrated in my mind the need for strengthening food security in the developing world, and I am absolutely thrilled to have been selected to take part in this amazing project in West Africa. I look forward to the opportunity to share the experiences of rural farming and village life with our partner organizations and the amazing farming families in the region.

Education:

B.Sc. Biology, minor in applied ethics, University of Victoria.

Host Country:

The Gambia

Internship Experience:

As a REAP intern I was placed in Samba Musu, a small village on the banks of the river Gambia. Actually, small may be an understatement... it only had 4 family compounds in it! Throughout my stay my host family showed the integrity, openness and work ethic that pervaded the next six months of my interactions with Gambian and Senegalese farmers.


While working for REAP I had the opportunity to work with dozens of farmers from many different regions of West Africa. The abilities and insights brought by the diverse tribes and ethnic groups in the region form an incredible knowledge base of traditional farming techniques. That being said, there still exists a crucial need for Canadian partnerships to facilitate knowledge sharing (both ways!) and capacity building. The local desire for collaboration is only growing.


Aside from the wonderful work experience, getting an insider’s view of Gambian and Senegalese culture was an unbelievable gift. I had the incredible fortune to join my local friends in naming ceremonies (ndigte), weddings, religious observances (Tabaski and Gamo), and even a pilgrimage to Senegal’s holy city, a true once in a lifetime experience that I could never have imagined doing without the help of my dear Gambian friends. Being blessed by saints and eating roasted camel by moonlight while the great mosque shone on the horizon was a genuine cultural experience to be sure.


The inconveniences people often associate with Sub-Saharan village life (limited diet, lack of electricity, no running water, etc.) are immediately eclipsed on arrival by the almost embarrassing kindness of the people as you are instantly absorbed into the society. The internship only increased my desire to be involved in this kind of work in the future. The work was challenging, rewarding, and unlike anything I’ve done before.


I guess the best summation of my feelings about West Africa really came as I was on the plane home, chatting with the person in the seat next to me. “Would you ever consider going back?” she asked. “Right this second,” I blurted out, before she’d even finished asking the question. That was the first moment I realized it was true.


Bhanu Duggirala, Intern 2010 - 2011

Background Bio:

Having born and grown-up in rural southern India and educated in an urban and international setting, I was able to witness the remarkable difference access to clean and cheap bio-fuel can make in small, rural communities in terms of bringing change in local peoples lifestyle and health.

My master’s thesis research focused on small-scale off-gird communities’ energy needs and looked at opportunities to reduce GHG emissions and energy costs using low-cost and no-cost technological solutions. It also focused on incorporating locally available renewable energy resources for heat and power production thus mitigating diesel and propane fuel consumption. My work in with the Manitoba Government has helped me in further deepening my understanding about energy efficiency by performing energy audits and how small changes (behavioural and technological) can lead to considerable energy savings for large organisations.

Using agricultural residues as fuel for cooking has been an everyday thing for many poor people throughout the world. However, due to the lack of efficient and clean burning stoves, using wood and other agri-residues can result in excessive smoke (from inefficient burning), particulate matter, and create safety hazards (open fire). I am very excited to have this opportunity to work in West Africa as the renewable energy intern on a problem that I have witnessed for a long time and I am happy to be a part of the team working towards a solution.

 

Education:

M.N.R.M (Master of Natural Resource Management), University of Manitoba.
B.E (Mechanical Engineering), University of Madras, India.

Host Country:

The Gambia

Internship Experience:

You are introduced to an entirely new culture, language, people and customs that are different and sometimes difficult to adjust to. The best part of the internship for me has been the village stay during which you are all by yourself for one week with a host family in the village, this where I met the true people of rural Gambia. People here have huge hearts and are among some of the most humble people I have ever met. My host village was Torro Tayam, it’s a small village of about 400 people about 5 kms from Njawara Agricultural Training Centre (NATC), our main work place.

The Gambian farmer takes everyday struggle of life in their stride and show undeterred sprit, energy and even some wit. Women play a special role in the society; they work much harder than any women anywhere I have seen. I miss Torro Tayam, I miss speaking Wolof, I miss Damoda, I miss NATC, I miss the people of the village, and I miss the clear night skies littered with stars.

From the bottom of my heart I thank all the people at the NATC and at the villages for your hospitality and warmth shown by all of you. I can never forget Gambia and the Gambian people and their culture……. “Jeerejeff!!” (Thank you!!)….I would love to go back to Gambia, hope in the future I would get an opportunity to work with the Gambian people again, inshallah…(God willing…!)





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